i failed,
please don't hate me.

tears fall,
nose aches,
throat burns.

hands tremble,
heart clenched,
lost in this ache.

my love can't defy you,
my weakness.

before the mirror,
"I'll make them proud,"
murmurs to my heart.

i failed,
please don't hate me.

I stand alone, amidst the green meadow,
Grass embraces softly in its glow.
On the left, a cozy home,
where warmth and peace freely roam.

Blue sky,
shaping clouds with grace,
birds dancing in wind,
a lively chase.

Eyes closed,
the sun kisses my soul,
Eyes open,
I leave that heaven whole.

I write, unseen by all,
to know my truth,
I find myself in every word I choose.

They did not know who I'd be,
I was a child back then, not yet set free.
Each wound they left became a door
Through which my naked pain would pour.

The child they knew has long since fled,
And as time passed my tears were shed.
They have my photograph old and worn,
While I became a woman scorned.

How great it is to know that they cannot see
The strength that has grown wild inside of me.
Their story is over, that page has turned,
Their privilege was lost and lessons were learned.

Let them keep their faded view
Of someone they once long ago knew,
As they hold firmly onto the past
While I am free to fly at last.

©️Lizzie Bevis

Lately I've been feeling
Disconnected from the world
It seems such a dreadful place
It feels far away from home

So I come to my safe haven
Read and write for hours
Write and read some more
And I know I'm not alone

For I get to see each of you
The outcasts, the weirdos
The misfits, the poets...
But above all, the kind

My little beacons of hope...
My people